Alternate Reality - Ch 2
by analyticalinsights
Summary: ...Secret Nerd... Geeks, Freaks, Jocks... High School... Lucaya & Riarkle. Chapter 2 by A.I. A collab fic with Blondie103


Alternate Reality – CH. 2

Read Ch. 1 here: s/12139779/1/Alternate-Reality

Maya Hart was a lot of things to most of the people she knew – tough, funny, kind, rebellious, creative, and beautiful. But, like everyone else around her, she had her secrets.

 _Maya was a bit of a genius._

It wasn't a fact that she liked touting around too much – she had a rep to protect. So leaving Riley at the Bay Window early because she had to "study" wasn't necessarily a lie, but more of a half-truth.

Maya was actually starting to tutor some junior high kids today. She excelled at math and they had personally asked her to help out with some of the kids who were struggling at math.

So this led to her having tutoring sessions three times per week to help the kids out. It was extra cash and Maya needed some new art supplies so she wasn't in any sort of mood to object. Also, it gave her a chance to focus her attention on someone other than herself, seeing as she is an only child with an absentee father and a well-intentioned but neglectful mother. Also, there may be an opportunity to frequent Hartsell Museum that piqued her curiosity.

Rounding the last corner before she entered her house, Maya stopped in front of her house to gaze at the magnificent view before her.

Living in a less-than-ideal neighbourhood didn't offer Maya many luxuries, except the view. As an artist, these are the types of scenes she lives for. The sun had just started setting, which meant that the sky had been colored an effervescent array of orange, red, and purple, producing one of the most stunning views she had ever seen. Maya immediately snapped a picture with her iPhone, promising herself to paint a picture after she was done tutoring.

Three hours later – after many questions, laughs, and the occasional cookie break, Maya had sent her student home so they could work on their homework. Checking her phone, she had received three texts from Riley, one from Josh, and one from an unknown number.

Curious as to who the unknown number was, Maya opened that text first.

 _Hey. It's Lucas. Lucas Friar. Sorry if this is a bit intrusive so I'll keep it short. I grabbed your number from a kid named Farkle Minkus (I can't believe his parents named him that). Just wanted to let you know that I'll be a bit late tomorrow._ – Lucas (Read 8:45 pm)

Rolling her eyes as annoyance set on her delicate features, Maya whipped out a quick response before looking at the other messages that were left by Riley and Josh.

 _Look here Ranger, I don't got time to play games. I'm on a tight schedule so whatever reason you got to be late better be good. I'll let it slide cause you're somewhat remedial in Art, but don't let it happen twice._ – Maya (Sent 8:47 pm)

Blushing at the messages that Josh had sent her, she had realized that her crush was starting to really become serious. However, knowing that Josh was Riley's brother, she just brushed those feelings aside by relegating them to a "someday".

Glancing at Riley's messages, Maya knew that she'd have to deal with Rileytown in its entirety tomorrow, but for now she just wanted to go to bed.

Changing out of her school clothes into her PJs, Maya brushed her teeth, wiped her makeup off, and then got cozy in her bed.

 _Her life wasn't perfect, but at least she was alive._

With an attitude of gratitude lacing her thoughts, Maya slowly drifted to sleep hoping that tomorrow would bring a new and exciting adventure that alluded her today.

While Maya was sleeping soundly, Riley was on the phone with her other best friend trying to understand what was happening with Maya.

"Farkle… I'm concerned. What if Maya is changing and she doesn't want to hang out anymore?"

"Riley, you're being over-dramatic. Why would Maya not want to hang out with you? Other than your parents, she's the only person you've known longer than me. And I love you, so there's no way Maya couldn't either."

Sighing audibly, Riley thought about all the adventures that she had with Maya. She didn't want to lose her friend, and there was no way that she was going to leave it alone. Riley made it her duty to make sure that her friends were okay at all times.

Why?

 _Because it always mattered to her what her friends thought._

"Yeah… I guess you're right Farkle. Thanks for cheering me up. Love ya too! Bye" Riley exclaimed before pressing the end button on her cell phone.

' _If only you knew how much I loved you'_ Farkle thought as he let his phone fall out of his hand.

Farkle Minkus was an eccentric person, to say the least. Now that they were freshman in high school, they had to grow and mature as a group. It was always Riley, Maya, and Farkle. At first, when he met both of them, he promised that he would love them equally. But then Riley asked the simplest and most obvious of questions:

 _But what if you love one of us more?_

To which Farkle responded that he would always love them equally and nothing would come in the way of that. Or so he thought. As he got older, it was clear to everyone around him and himself as well that the scales had shifted in Riley's favour.

It wasn't that Farkle didn't love Maya.

No, he did.

They had a wonderful friendship which blossomed from a general dislike on Maya's part to a trusting and understanding friendship. They were the best of friends.

But, Maya wasn't Riley.

For someone as eccentric as Farkle, he truly met his match in Riley Matthews. She was an enigma to the highest degree and he loved it. Riley always tried her best to see the best in people and to help them reach their potential. She was the glue that held her friend group together and Farkle wasn't upset by that at all, in fact he embraced it. Riley Matthews was a wonderful force to be reckoned with and he was glad that he had met her. But, if you asked Farkle how he felt about Riley, you'd be there for a while.

But, to put it simply, in a sentence if you will – _Pluto will_ _ **always**_ _be a planet in Farkle's room._

A/N: Whew! That took a while to put out. Sorry for the delay everyone! I really wanted to make sure that I got some of the details right and introduced the characters and their motivations. Anyways, let me know what you guys thought. Me and Blondie103 are taking turns writing chapters, so here's mine! Hopefully you guys like it!

-A.I.


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